Bits And Pieces
by ToxicSniper210
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Tachibana thinks of Kyoya? Have you ever wondered about the encounter between Ranka and Anne-Sophie when they finally meet? Bits and pieces of everyday life are brought to life at last.


**So, this was sitting dormant inside my many documents, and I decided to bring it up and finish it. This is one one-shot out of many I hope to compose and they're going to form a mini-series. Also, if there are any characters you want me to focus on, just put your suggestions in your reviews, and I'll get to them. **

**Enjoy, and review!**

**Disclaimer: OHSHC belongs to Bisco Hatori.**

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><p><strong>Memoirs between a Bodyguard and His Master<strong>

**...\~/...**

"Young master-" Tachibana stopped short when he saw the young master sitting at his desk, head buried in his arms, shoulders rising up and down every so often. The bodyguard took a step closer, reaching out to shake Kyoya awake, but he pulled his hand away when the black-haired boy shifted in his sleep. His head turned, just enough for Tachibana to see his face. Tachibana could feel his features soften at the sight of the sleeping boy. The usually emotionless teenager seemed to always adorn narrowed gazes with a frown that Tachibana feared would stick after a while, but now as he slept, his eyebrows were lifted and his features were gentle, almost like he was dreaming about something pleasant. The bodyguard loved to moments when he caught the young master sleeping for that was when Kyoya was most at peace.

**...\~/...**

_The maid in front of him was blushing madly, clutching a pair of leather gloves to her chest. She was pretty, with short, dark brown hair with the uniform maids' cap nestled in her curly locks. Her cerulean eyes were watering as she stared down at the ground, a fearful look set upon her features. Tachibana didn't quite know what to do when she thrust the gloves in his direction, bowing apologetically. He stumbled over his words, not finding the right ones to say when finally she spoke, "Please, Mr. Tachibana, maybe you can wake the young master up! He…he…"_

_ "Uh, well, what seems to be the problem?" he asked._

_ "Master Kyoya is, well, he's hard to get up in the morning. The other maids claim they're too busy to perform the task and I'm…I'm too nervous."_

_ "What exactly are the gloves for?" Tachibana questioned hesitantly, taking the gloves carefully. They were heavy-duty gardening gloves, ones that were used when trimming roses in order to prevent pricks from the thorns. When the maid looked like she was about to cry, the bodyguard jumped in panic, ready to comfort her in case the tears fell. The man now questioned what kind of job he was really hired to do and wondered what kind of child he was sent to protect. From the look of the pretty maid and the reactions of every other type of domestic help in the household, he knew he was up against something horrific. _

_ "Just…just wear them!" the maid exclaimed as she ran away, the front of her maid uniform bunched in her fists._

_ "Um…okay…"_

_ Tachibana turned towards the young master's bedroom door, gulping slightly. What was so terrifying about a six year-old? His wife had babysat little ones younger than six and she never had had any problems with them before, but then again, not all kids were the same. The bodyguard summoned up the courage to turn to the doorknob, pushing open the door quietly, and what he saw before him was a surprise. _

_ The room was huge! Bigger than his apartment! The bottom part of the room was almost like a living room, complete with two white couches, chestnut-colored dressers, desk, and side tables, and a wide-screen T.V. settled on the wall to his left. The room was dark, orange hues beginning to light a portion of the room due to the wall of windows. The room had a set of stairs leading to a loft; Tachibana assumed it was the young master's bedroom. He slowly made his way up the stairs, eyes immediately taking in the modern look of the room. In the middle of the wall opposite from where he stood was a king-sized bed, an abstract piece of artwork above the headboard. Tachibana thought that the décor and outlook of the room was far too mature for such a young child, but yet again, he had to take it into consideration that there was probably mature six year-olds._

_ Tachibana walked towards the bed, eyeing the small lump near the row of pillows, wrapped in a cocoon of light blue and white sheets. The newly-hired bodyguard went around to the side, bending over, pressing one hand to the bed and the other reached out to shake the lump gently. _

_ "Master Kyoya…Master Kyoya…it's time for you to get up. Breakfast is ready for you downstairs. You need to…" He trailed off when the air around him suddenly got tense and an unsettling aura radiated off the small lump. Tachibana didn't have time to react when the sheets flipped off the covers and a blur went for his hand, teeth sinking in his hand. Tachibana gave a painful yelp when he pulled his hand from the boy, rubbing it gingerly as he flinched with pain. "Young master, I've come to…"_

_ "What are you doing in my room?" a small voice asked menacingly._

_ The sight in front of him was enough to scare anyone, but Tachibana had dealt with cranky children before, though not as malevolent. The boy's black hair hung over his eyes, leaving Tachibana to imagine what kind of piercing stare he was being given at the moment. Was that a purple aura surrounding the boy? No, it had to be his imagination. _

_ "I ask again, _what_ are you doing in my room?" Kyoya asked sharply._

_ "I've come to get you ready. Your maid's already put out your uniform and breakfast is ready for you downstairs. It's a school day and I'm pretty sure your father doesn't want you to be late." Mentioning his father seemed to have struck a chord because the little boy paused before flinging the rest of his sheets off, crawling out of bed. Tachibana's eyes followed the little one as Kyoya sauntered over to his uniform, stripping of his pajamas, and slowly throwing on the dark-green uniform of Ouran Elementary. _

_ As Kyoya began to walk towards the stairs, he stopped at the top, his gray eyes looking over at Tachibana, "Aren't you coming?" he snapped, his eyes still looking droopy with sleep._

_ "Uh, yes, sir."_

_ Now he knew what the leather gloves were for. _

**…\~/…**

Tachibana stared down at the screen of Kyoya's laptop, reading over all the complex charts he was looking over, related to his father's work. The bodyguard always knew that the boy was trying to find topics of discussion that his father would deem impressive, but so far, none have succeeded. He hated seeing the boy work so hard for something that was almost unreachable, but Tachibana was glad that that Kyoya had managed to touch the hearts of so many others. He had watched so many years go by where Kyoya was friendless, only acting friendly towards his classmates so that he could befriend the parents, hoping that their impressions of him would reach the ears of his father, also hoping that he would gain some respect from his father. But it never seemed to work and all Kyoya was to the world was a blank canvas, living only to follow his father's every word, secretly yearning for the moment when he would gain the upper hand and surpass his brothers.

But one question always came to Tachibana's mind: it was quite obvious Kyoya held some sort of love for his father or else he wouldn't be doing his hardest to impress him, but did his father love his youngest son back?

**…\~/…**

_"Mistress Fuyumi, where's Master Kyoya?"_

_ "He's in his room. Tachibana, there's something wrong with him. He's not answering."_

_ "Did something happen at school today?"_

_ "I'm not sure, but he had a long talk with father. He went immediately to his room afterwards."_

_ Tachibana nodded, turning the doorknob to Kyoya's room, opening the door whilst rapping his knuckles against the wooden door. From where he could see, the room was empty, but he could hear something shift from behind the couch, then silence shortly after. Tachibana looked back over at Fuyumi, who nodded back at him, turning to only walk away, disappearing around the corner. The bodyguard stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him before walking over to the couch closest to the windows. The sun was setting outside, a gorgeous sunset lighting up the room with reddish hues. Tachibana peered around the couch, his eyes landing on Kyoya, who was dressed in a simple white T-shirt with a pair of designer jeans, knees drawn to his chest. Kyoya's chin was rested atop his knees, eyes staring outside the windows, studying the sunset outside. _

_ "Master Kyoya, how was school to-?"_

_ "He said he was disappointed in my joining of Tamaki's club."_

_ The room was silent, except for sigh that escaped Kyoya's lips. "Tachibana, did you know I look at my life as a game?"_

_ "No, I didn't."_

_ "Every person I meet is some sort of pawn that I'm allowed to manipulate, pulling me closer to the prize: my father's declaration that one day I'll be the heir to the company. But my brothers are my father's guards, creating a strong barrier between he and I due to their accomplishments that I have to surpass. This game that I play, it's set at the highest difficulty, and that's extreme." A ghost of a smile appeared on Kyoya's handsome features. "And I honestly can't think if anything more fun. Sometimes, I find ways that almost allow me to break through my brothers' barrier, but more obstacles come my way, only to challenge me."_

_ Tachibana stared at the boy with a wide-eyed gaze. It made him sad that Kyoya looked at him as a pawn, but he also couldn't believe how complex the boy's thought process was. And yet, he couldn't help but admire Kyoya's determination to win this game called life, and how well he was coping with everything. But Tachibana withdrew his words when the young master began to talk again._

_ "But there are those times when I wonder if I'll ever win. I've impressed so many people, but have never come close to impressing my father. Sometimes, I get tired of constantly being compared to my older brothers, and even though I look up to them, I wish they weren't here. I…I wish my mom were still here."_

_ This was the first time he had ever spoken of the woman. From what he had heard from the maids, Mrs. Ootori had been kind and affectionate, putting her kids' needs before hers. She had played the piano for them every day and Tachibana assumed that was where Kyoya's love for the piano came from. _

_ "She always made things better. She…My father was different around her. He actually acted like a father, instead of someone so distant. I remember how he smiled when she entered the room and she was always so beautiful, so full of spirit. He didn't always care about being the best at everything, but after she passed on, my father began to transform. Being the third son and resembling her so much, I became the one he worked the hardest. But, I'm fine with it. Really, I am…"_

_ Tachibana lowered himself to the ground, sitting beside Kyoya when he saw a single tear run down the boy's pale cheek. _

_ "Kyoya, it's alright to cry. Everyone does it once in awhile."_

_ After he said that, he felt Kyoya's forehead hit his shoulder, and the boy's whole body shook. Tachibana reached an arm around him, resting his cheek against the top of Kyoya's head. _

_ This was one of the times when Tachibana knew he wasn't just a pawn._

**...\~/…**

He remembered how empty Kyoya's room had been. No pictures of friends or memorabilia from trip outings. His room was always neat and gave a sense of maturity, never any signs of personality. But he noticed how the room seemed to lighten up once the young master befriended Master Tamaki. It started out with a miniature Shisa from Okinawa, marking their first adventure in Japan. Then, it was a banner with Kyoto written across it in big, bold, green letters. Tachibana had walked in one time to see Kyoya installing a line of shelves near the windows, solely for the souvenirs he brought home from his outings with Suoh. Gradually though, the shelves became cluttered with more than just souvenirs; pictures of his friends began to sit up there as well (Tachibana's favorite had to be of Kyoya surrounded by his friends, all dressed up in kimonos). Those shelves became the character of the young master and Tachibana made it routine to gaze upon all the items before waking Kyoya up for the day.

But there was one thing that was lacking from the shelves: family portraits.

Now, Tachibana couldn't ignore the many pictures of Kyoya and Fuyumi, but anyone could figure out that Kyoya didn't want the happy moments in his life corrupted by the three people that made his life difficult. Even Tamaki had noticed this on one of his visits and Tachibana had to admit that that kid was slow-minded a majority of the time. There were no pictures containing his brothers or father and if someone like Tamaki could notice, Tachibana was pretty sure anybody could.

Kyoya shifted in his sleep, his nose nuzzling the inside of his arm. The bodyguard could hear incoherent words come from the boy and he had to wonder what Kyoya dreamed about. One time, he did know. He remembered how the black-haired teenager yelled when he woke up, drenched in a cold sweat. It was one of the few moments Tachibana saw true fear in the boy's eyes.

It was a moment he couldn't forget.

**…\~/…**

_There was a yell from the loft and Tachibana was immediately on his feet, hurrying up the steps two at a time so he could reach the young master in time. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he could see Kyoya hunched over, face buried in his hands. Tachibana stopped at the foot of his bed and he watched Kyoya peek through the cracks of his fingers, dark eyes glass-like. His black hair stuck to his forehead from sweat and the white shirt he had fallen asleep in was drenched, sticking to his torso like it was glued on. _

_ "I'm fine. I just had a nightmare. You can go back to your post."_

_ Tachibana continued to stand there. Kyoya had long since laid back down, curled up in a ball, surrounded by his sheets. The bodyguard sighed, turning halfway whilst saying, "Alright then. Good night."_

_ When he reached the stairs, Kyoya's voice stopped him, "Tamaki died…"_

_ Kyoya rose once more, running his fingers through his hair. His bodyguard stood at the foot of his bed once more, hands clasped behind his back, waiting for him to continue speaking. "I was standing in a room full of mirrors and there was no exit so I was trapped. The mirror in front of me cracked, then shattered, and there was Tamaki, he had hung himself. Another mirror shattered behind me and the twins were hanging there, holding hands. Then Haruhi, Mori, and Hunny's mirrors shattered. Out of nowhere…" He trailed off, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, clutching the sheets next to him with the other. "…a rope appeared around my neck and the ground beneath me disappeared. That's when I woke up."_

_ "That's some nightmare…"_

_ "A friend of mine had a similar dream and ever since she told me about it, I've been having them lately." _

_ Tachibana waited for him to continue, but the room was filled with an eerie silence. That's when Kyoya added, "You were…one of the people…" The bodyguard frowned, his gaze sympathetic behind his sunglasses. Kyoya looked up at him, fear in his eyes. The exchanging of glances was short and the young master lay back down, pulling the sheets over his shoulder. Tachibana began to turn and go back to his post, but something stopped him. He remembered when he would have nightmares as a kid, calling for his father, but never getting a response. He remembered how lonely he felt when no one came to comfort him, to hold him. He remembered how everything was so frightening; every noise, every smell, every feeling would remind him of the dream._

_ The bodyguard walked quietly to the side of the bed, sitting down. _

_ He would wait until the young master was asleep, then he would return to his post._

**…\~/…**

"Tachibana…?"

The bodyguard looked over to see Kyoya sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His hair was ruffled in the front and his clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in that awkward position, but he never failed to look cool and collected. Tachibana watched as the young master looked back at the computer screen, dark eyes trying to focus in on the glowing screen, but only drooped.

"Master Kyoya, I think you need to turn in for the night."

"I need to finish this."

"You can finish in the morning. Sleep is more important."

Kyoya stared up at him for a moment before shutting his laptop, standing up tiredly. He sauntered up the stairs without a word and Tachibana could hear the bed speak as Kyoya dived into it, probably already asleep.

Tachibana smiled, "You'll thank me in the morning…_Kyoya_."


End file.
